The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus.
Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus for forming a toner image on the circumferential surface of a photoconductive drum by supplying toner prepared in advance to the circumferential surface of the photoconductive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit storing toner inside in advance. Since the developing unit has a service life, it needs to be regularly exchanged. Thus, in the conventional image forming apparatus, an open/close cover used to take the developing unit from the inside is provided on the front surface which a user will face.
Further, the image forming apparatus houses a waste toner container for collecting waste toner produced after a toner image on the circumferential surface of the photoconductive drum is transferred to a sheet. This waste toner container needs to be exchanged when being filled up with waste toner. Thus, in the conventional image forming apparatus, an open/close cover used to take out the waste toner container from the inside is provided on a side surface thereof.
Furthermore, an open/close cover used to exchange a drum unit including the photoconductive drum is provided on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus and an open/close cover used to expose a sheet conveyance path for conveying a sheet is provided on the rear surface thereof.
The above image forming apparatus is so configured that the developing unit, the waste toner container and the drum unit are respectively taken out through the front, side and upper surfaces and the sheet conveyance path is exposed on the rear surface. Thus, in installing the image forming apparatus, extra spaces for allowing the respective open/close covers on the front, side, upper and rear surfaces to open and close are necessary, wherefore the installation location of the image forming apparatus is limited.
Further, in a small-size image forming apparatus, a developing unit and a photoconductive drum may be assembled into a unit and the unit may be exchanged when toner in the developing unit is used up. However, parts (e.g. developing roller) of the developing unit have a relatively long service life and, if the entire developing unit is exchanged to supply toner, parts which can be further used are discarded, which is uneconomical.
Accordingly, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus in which a toner container containing toner is housed by being assembled with a developing unit and the toner container and the developing unit are separately exchanged. The following methods, for example, exist as a method for exchanging a toner container and a developing unit in an image forming apparatus of this type.
According to a first method, the toner container and the developing unit are temporarily taken out from the apparatus, either one of the toner container and the developing unit is exchanged and a new one is assembled with the other and returned into the apparatus. Since it is inevitably required to taken out the heavy developing unit from the apparatus in this method, the developing unit may be damaged due to a fall or collision. Further, when the developing unit and the toner container are separated, foreign matters such as dust may enter through a toner supply opening used to supply toner into the developing unit.
According to a second method, the toner container is taken out from the apparatus earlier than the developing unit. This method is inconvenient since the developing unit cannot be taken out earlier than the toner container. There is also a method by which a toner conveyance path is provided between the developing unit and the toner container and the toner container is taken out from the toner conveyance path, but the image forming apparatus is enlarged since the toner conveyance path is provided extra.
To solve the above problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an image forming apparatus enabling a developing unit and a toner container to be easily exchanged while realizing space saving.